Relay



Aug. 8, 1939.

w. H. GILLE 2,169,141

RELAY Filed Dec. 19, 1934 Fig. 7

Willis H. Gille Patented Aug. 8, 1939 UNITED STATES RELAY Willis H. Gille, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Mlnneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application December 19, 1934, Serial No. 758,231

11 Claims.

This invention relates to relays.

An object of this invention is to provide a relay of novel construction which is extremely efllcient and delicate in operation and yet easy and inex- 5 pensive to manufacture.

Another object is to provide an armature assembly in a relay that is mechanically balanced so that gravity will have no eifect on the operation of the armature assembly.

Another object is to provide a relay having spaced coils and a pivoted armature associated therewith with means for preventing chatter and noise at the pivot of the armature.

A further object is to provide a relay having spaced coils and a pivoted armature associated therewith with means tending to urge the arma.'- ture towards neutral position.

A still further object is to provide a relay having spaced coils and a pivoted armature associ- 20 ated therewith, having a contact arm movable between and engageable with a pair of contacts and a friction buffer mechanism to prevent rebounding of the contact arm into engagement with one contact when it is released from the 25 other contact.

Still another object is to provide a novel coil assembly construction and casing construction to minimize the amount of eddy currents existing therein.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying specification, claims and drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the relay of this invention; v

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view with a portion thereof shown in section, the section being taken along the line II-II of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a. bottom view of the right hand portion of the relay as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a. detailed view of the friction buifer mechanism of this invention;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing one means for controlling the operation of the relay, and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing another means for operating the relay.

'I'he relay of this invention is contained within a housing made up of a rear portion or enclosure I and a cooperating front portion or enclosure I I. When the two portions I0 and II of the cas- ".ng are assembled together they make an overlap `onncction as at I2, The rear portion I0 has (Cl. 20D-98) laterally extending ears I3 provided with holes therein and the front portion II is likewise provided With laterally extending ears provided with holes therein', the holes of the ears I3 and I4 adapted to receive screws I for securing the 6 relay of a suitable base, not shown, and for holding the rearand front portions I0 and II in assembled relation.

Mounted in the casing is a pair of spaced coil assemblies. The left hand coil assembly as viewed in Fig. 2 comprises a split tube I'I that is square in cross section, coil windings I8 wrapped around the split tube, upper and lower split plates I8 and 20, respectively, and iianges 2I on the tube overlying the upper and lower plates I9 and 20 to secure the split tube I l, the coil windings I8 and the upper and lower plates I9 and in assembled relation. The front and rear portions I I and I0 are provided with downwardly extending lugs 22 which extend through notches in the lower plate 20 and which are bent over into engagement with the lower plate 20 to hold the coil assembly in place in the casing. The left hand coil as viewed in Fig. 2 has lead Wires 25 and 26 extending therefrom and the coil windings I8 are insulated and protected by means of insulating tape 21.

The construction of the right hand c oil as viewed in Fig. 2 is the same as the left hand coil except that the right hand coil windings have been designated I 6 instead of I8 and the lead wires extending therefrom have been designated 23 and` 24 instead of 25 and 26.

It will be noted at this point that split portions of the tube I'I and upper and lower plates I9 and 20 coincide to form a continuous break in the metallic elements associated with the coil windings to prevent the flow of eddy currents therein.

By reason of the coil assembly construction and the casing construction described above, the relay may be constructed of relatively inexpensive sheet metal, the parts may be easily assembled, large open spaces in communication with the surrounding atmosphere aid cooling of the coils and the formation of eddy currents in the relay is greatly minimized.

Secured in the rear and front sections I0 and I I of the casing of the relay intermediate the coil assemblies are bearings having rounded portions at their inner sides. An armature is designated at 3I, having downwardly extending lugs 33 adapted to receive a pivot pin 32 which isI mounted in the bearings 30 of the rear and front portions III and II `of the casing of the relay. Located at opposite downwardly slanting ends 5f of the armature 3i are downwardly extending cores 36 and 35 which are formed by downwardly bent lugs and which coact respectively with the coil windings it' and i3 of the coil assemblies. Extending downwardly from the center of the armature 3i is a resilient switch arm 31. Also extending downwardly from the armature 3i is a spring anchor member 38. The resilient switch arm 3l and the spring anchor member 35 are secured to the armature 3l by means of rivets 39.l The armature 3l, the cores 3d and 35, the anchor member 3S and the switch arm 3i are so constructed and positioned about the pivot pin 32 that the armature assembly formed by these members is completely balanced so that gravity will have no turning effect on the armature aS- sembly regardless of the position in which the relay is placed. The relay will operate just as ecently in a vertical position or any other position as in the horizontal position shown which is extremely beneficial especially where small currents are used to operate the relay.

Extending rearwardly from the bottom of the front portion l I of the casing is a spring anchor member lid. The spring anchor members 38 and 150 are provided with holes adapted to receive the opposite ends of a spring di. It will be noted at this point that the spring anchor members 38 and it are located at an angle with respect to the center line of theV spring il so that an eiective knife-edge construction is aiorded to give accurate operation of the instrument. It will also be noted at this point that the connection of the spring @i to the spring anchor member` 38 of the armature 3| is located at a point below the pivot pin 32 upon which the armature 3l is pivoted. The primary function of the spring il is to hold the armature 3l tight against the pivot pin 32 and to hold the pivot pin 32 tight against the bearings 3U to prevent chattering and the objectionable noises at these pivotal connections which may be occasioned by the use of A. C. currentin the coils I5 and it. Since the spring is connected below but close to the pivot pin 32, the force exerted by the spring on the armature is always acting in substantially the same direction as the magnetic force exerted on the armature through cores 34 and 35. In this manner, it is assured that chattering will be lreduced to a minimum since, regardless of the position in which the relay is placed. there is always a force acting in one direction to hold the armature tight against the pivot pin 32.

'I'he resilient contact arm 31 is provided at its lower endwith oppositely extending contacts 42 which .are adapted to alternately engage adjustable stationary contacts 43 and 4t. The contacts 43 and 44 are provided with screw threads which cooperate with binding posts 45 and 46 to permit their proper adjustments, the binding posts 45 and 46 being suitably secured to a base not shown.

A friction snubber mechanism is generally designated at 50 andit is provided with downwardly extending ears 5I having inwardly extending concave portions 5I'. 'I'he friction snubber 50 is also provided with laterally extending lugs 52 and 53 which are adapted to engage alternately the upper surface of armature 3l. y As shown in Fig.r 5, the downwardly extending ears 5I are normally spread outwardly. When the friction snubber mechanism 50 is assembled in the relay, the concave indentations 5| engage the inner rounded portions of bearings 30 to form surface contacts and by reason of this surface engagearcaica ment and the outwardly extending force of ears 5i, a frictional engagement is maintained between the friction snubber 5@ and the bearings 3@ so that movement of the friction snubber 583 with respect to the casing is retarded.

By referring to Fig. 2, it will be noted that there is a lost motion between the friction snubber device 5@ and the armature 3i. Assume that the armature 3i is moved in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 32, contact d2 of the contact arm 31 will engage the stationary contact 33 and due to the resiliency of contact arm 3l, a force is built up therein tending to urge the armature 3i in a clockwise direction. This counter-clockwise movement of armature 3i will cause the armature 3l to engage the right hand lug 52 of friction snubber 5@ to also move the friction snubber 5@ in a counter-clockwise direction. When the armature 3i is in this counterclockwise position, a lost motion will then exist between the armature Si and the left hand lug 53 ofthe friction snubber 55. Upon electrically Y balancing the coil windings it and i t in a manner to be pointed out hereafter, so that the armature is moved to its mid position, the force built up in the resilient contact arm 3l will be expended to tend to snap the contact i2 into engagement with the stationary contact li. Such movement would be extremely detrimental in the operation of this type of relay and this movement is eectively prevented by means of the friction snubber 53. Movement of the armature 3l in an amount sumcient to move contact :t2 away from stationary contact d3 to its mid position causes the taking up of the lost motion between the armature 3l and the left hand lug 53' of friction snubber 55. Further movement beyond the mid-position is resisted by the action of the friction snubber so that the resilient contact arm cannot be snapped into engagement with the contact 6d..

From the above, it is seen that the contact Q2 of the contact arm 31 mamy be oved freely from engagement with the contact d5 to its mid-position because of the lost motion between the lug ,Y 53 and the armature 3i but further movement thereof into possible engagement with the contact Sii is prevented by the friction snubber 56.

Fig. 6 diagrammatically shows one method of operating the relay of this invention. 'Ihe right and left hand coils are diagrammatically shown at |I6 and i8 respectively and cooperating therewith are the cores 34 and 35 respectively secured to the amature 3l. Extending downwardly from the amature 3l is the contact arm 31 which alternately engages contact 43 orcontact 44. As above, lead wires 23 and 24 extend from the coil I6 and lead wires 25 and 26 extend from the coil I8. Lead wires 23 and 25 are connected together and to a wire 55 which is in'turn'connected to one end of a protective resistance 56. The other end of the protective resistance 56 is connected by means of a wire 51 to a switch arm 58. Switch arm 58 is moved by some means 59 to alternately engage contacts 60 or 6l. Contact 60 is connected by a wire 62 to a wire 63which in turn is connected to one end of secondary of a step down transformer 66. Contact 6l is connected by means of a wire 64 to the other end I leading from some power source not shown. An operating circuit for some device, not shown, is completed through wires 10, 1| and 12 connected to contact 43, contact 44 and contact arm 31 respectively.

With the switch arm 58 in the mid-position, as shown in Fig. 6, the coils I6 and I8 are equally energized to maintain the armature 3I in its neutral or mid-position due to the fact that' these coils are connected in series by wires 24, 23, 25, 26 and 63 with the secondary 65 of step down transformer 66. When the operating means 5'9 moves switch arm 58 into engagement with contact 6|), a shunting circuit around the coil I8 is completed to substantially short circuit the same by reason of the wires 62, 63, contact 60, switch arm 58, wire 51, protective resistance 56 and wire 55. By completing this -shunting circuit, the amount of current passing through the coil I8 is decreased and the amount of current passing through the coil I6 is increased whereby armature 3| is moved in a clockwise direction to move contact 42 of the contact arm 31 into engagement with the stationary contact 44 to complete an operating circuit from wire 12 through contact arm 31, contact 42, contact 44 and wire 1|. Upon movement of the switch arm 58 to a point intermediate the contacts 60 and 6|, the shunting circuit above described will be broken and the coils I6 and I8 will be equally energized to move the switch arm 31 to its mid-position out of engagement with contacts 43 and 44. Movement of the switch arm 58 by means of operating means 59 into engagement with the contact 6I completes a shunting circuit around the coil I6 to short circuit the same through wires 64, contact 6I, switch arm 58, wire 51, protective resistance 56 and wire 55 whereby the current or the energy in coil I8 is increased and the energy in coil I6 is decreased to move the armature 3| in a counter-clockwise direction to cause contact arm 31 to move contact 42 in engagement with contact 43 to complete an operating circuit from wire 12, contact 42, contact 43 to wire 1|). Again, movement of switch arm 58 to a point intermediate the contacts 60 and 6I will break the last mentioned shunting circuit to equally energize the coils I6 and I8 to move contact 42 out of engagement with contact 43.

In the mode of operation shown in Fig. 6, it will be noted that the contact arm 31 is maintained in its mid-position by supplying equal amounts of electrical energy to the coils I6 and I8 and is moved into engagement with the contact 43 by increasing the electrical energy in coil |8 and decreasing the energy in coil I6 and is moved into engagement with contact 44 by increasing the energy in coil I6 and decreasing the energy in coil I8. By reason of this construction, the armature 3| is electrically positioned in its mid-position by reason of the equal energization of coils I6 and I8.

Referring now to Fig. 7, there is a different manner disclosed for operating the relay of this invention. Fig. 7 is similar to Fig. 6 in that the same coils I6 and I8, lead wires 23, 24, 25 and 26 therefor, cores 34 and 35, armature 3|, contact arm 31, contacts 42, 43 and 44 are used. The mode of operation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7 differs from that shown in Fig. 6 in that when the armature 3| and contact arm 314 of Fig. 7 are in the mid-position as shown, the coils I6 and I6 are not energized while in Fig. 6, they are equally energized. Lead Wire 23 is connected to a stationary contact 15 and lead wire 25 is connected to a stationary contact 16. Alternately engaging these contacts 15 and 16 is switch arm 11 operated by some means designated at 18. Switch arm 11 is connected by means of a wire 18 to one end of a secondary 80 of a step down transformer 8|. The other end of the secondary 80 is connected to the lead wires 24 and 26. Step down transformer 8| is provided with a primary 82 which receives its energy from power lines 83 and 84 which are connected to some source of power, not shown. A wire 81 is connected to the contact arm 31 and wires 85 and 86 are connected respectivelysto contacts 43 and 44. Wires 85, 86 and 81 lead to and control some device. not shown.

With the switch arm 11 in the position shown in Fig. 7 midwaybetween the contacts 15 and 16, no circuits are completed and the coils I6 and I8 remain unenergized and the contact arm 31 is maintained midway between the contacts 43 and 44. Movement of switch arm 11 into engagement with the contact 15 by means of the operating means 18 completes a circuit from the secondary 8|! through wires 18, switch arm 11, contact 15, wire 23, coil I6, and wire 24 back to the secondary 8|! to energize the coil I6 to rotate the armature 3| `in a clockwise direction to cause contact 42 to engage contact 44 to complete an operating circuit through wires 81, switch arm 31, contacts 42 position shown in Fig. 7 breaks the above circuit and the armature 31 is moved to its mid-position by means of the spring 4| shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Movement of switch arm 11 by means of operating means 18 into engagement with the contact 16 completes a circuit from secondary 80 of step down transformer 8| through wire 19, switch arm '|1, contact 16, wire 25, coil I8 and wire 26 backl to the secondary 80 energizing the coil I8 to move the armature 3| in a counter-clockwise direction to cause contact 42 to engage contact 43 to complete an operating circuit through wires 81, contact arm 31, contact 42, contact 43 and wire 85. Again, when switch arm 11 is moved out of engagement with contact 16 to the mid-position shown in Fig. 7, the coil I8 is deenergized and the armature 3| and the contact arm 31 will move to their mid-positions by means of spring 4| as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

From the above references to Figs. 6 and '7, it is seen that the armature 3| is moved to one position or the other upon an unbalancing of the energy in the coils I6 and I8 Whether the unbalancing is caused by increasing the energy in one coil and decreasing it in another or by solely energizing one coil and not affecting the other coil. Also, by referring to Figs. 6 and 7, it is seen that the armature 3| is moved to its mid-position upon balancing of the coils I6 and I8 regardless of whether the coils I6 and I8 are equally energized or whether they are not energized. Therefore, it is within the contemplation of this invention to use the term balancing to mean equally energizing the coils I6 and I8 or not energizing the coils I6 and I8 and likewise, the term unbalancing may mean increasing the energy in one coil and decreasing the energy in the othercoil or applying energy to one coil and not On both 1ntrated in Fig. 6, no means are required to return the armature to its mid-position because this is accomplished by the equal energization oi the coils iii and iti. Therefore, the upper connection of spring il with the anchor member 3h is made as close to the pivot connection 32 of the armature 3l as possible so that the spring ii will have practically no biasing effect on the armature 3l to urge the armature 3 to its mid-position.

However, if it is desirable to use the mode of operation illustrated in Fig. '7, some means must be provided for urging the armature 3i to its midposition when the coils it and id thereof are not energized. In this type of construction, the spring il which prevents chatter in the pivotal connections 32 also aords a means for returning the armature to its mid-position, By lowering the upper connection of spring li to the spring anchor member E3 away from the pivot pin 32, this centering action of the spring di is increased.

Therefore, it is seen that by increasing the effective lever arm of spring anchor member 3S acted upon by the spring fil, the spring il performs a dual function that of preventing chattering at the pivot and that of restoring the armature to its mid-position upon balancing or deenergization of both coils it and iii.

In both modes of operation, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the friction buier device 5&3 is used to prevent rebounding of the contact arm 3l from one contact to the other upon electrically balancing the coils i@ and ld.

From the above, it is seen that I have provided a relayof novel construction which is extremely sensitive and accurate in operation, which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, which allows for ready cooling of the coils, which minimizes the amount of eddy currents existing therein, which is noiseless in operation and which prevents faulty operation caused by the rebounding onthe contact arm from one contact to another upon the electrical balancing of the coils thereof.

While one embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that many modications may be apparent to those skilled in the art and consequently this invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a relay of the class described, a pair of coils, an armature associated therewith for operation thereby, a contact arm carried by said armature, a pair of spaced contacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other of said contacts by the selective unbalancing of said coils and positioned intermediate said contacts by the balancing of said coils, and means for preventing travel of said contact arm beyond said intermediate position upon balancing of said coils but permitting free movement to said intermediate position, said means comprising a frictionally mounted movable abutment for said armature.

2. In a relay of the class described, a'pair of coils, -a pivotally mounted armature associated therewith for operation thereby, a contact arm carried by said armature, a pair of spaced contacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other of said contacts by the selective unbalancing of said coils and positioned intermediate said contacts by the balancing vo f said coils, and means associated with said armature for preventing travel of said contact arm beyond said intermediate position upon 1 balancing of said coils, said means comprising a frictionally mounted movable abutment adapted to bear against said armature after a predetermined movement of the same from contact maising position.

3. In a relay oi the class described, a pair of coils, a pivotally mounted armature associated therewith for operation thereby, a contact arm carried by said armature, a pair of spaced contacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other of said contacts by the selective unbalancing of said coils and positioned intermediate said contacts by the balancing of said coils, and means frictionally mounted on said pivotal mounting of said armature for preventing travel of said contact arm beyond said intermediate position upon balancing of said coils.

a. In a relay of the class described, a pair of coils, a pivotally mounted armature associated therewith for operation thereby, a contact arm carried by said armature, a pair of spaced con-` tacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other Aof said contacts by the selective unbalancing of said coils and positioned intermediate said contacts by the balancing of said coils, and means comprising a frictionaily mounted movable abutment having a lost motion connection with said armature for preventing travel of said contact arm beyond said intermediate position upon balancing of said coils but permitting free movement to substantially said intermediate position.

5. In a relay of the class described, a casing, a pair of coils mounted therein, an armature associated with said coils for operation thereby,

a ,pivotal connection between said armature and said casing, a contact arm carried by said armature, a pair of contacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other of said contacts by the selective unbalancving of said coils and positioned intermediate oi' xsaid contacts by the balancing of said coils, and

means mounted on said pivotal connection in frictional engagement with said casing and having a lost motion connection with said armature for preventing travel of said contact arm beyond said intermediate position upon balancing of said coils but permitting free movement of said contact arm to substantially said intermediate position.

6. In a relay of the class described, a pair of coils having passages extending therethrough, a pivoted armature including a pair of cores extending into said coils for operation thereby, a contact arm carried by said armature, a pair of spaced contacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other of said contacts by the selective unbalancing of said coils and positioned intermediate said contacts by the balancing of said coils, and said armature and said contact arm being disposed about the pivot point symmetrically to all lines through the pivot point so that gravity has no effect upon the operation of the relay regardless of the angular position thereof, and springs connected to said armature and anchored between said coils to maintain said armature in said intermediate position when said coils are balanced.

7. In a relay of the class described, a pair of coils having passages extending therethrough, a. pivoted armature including a pair of cores extending into said coils for operation thereby, a contact arm carried by saidarmature, and a pair of spaced contacts engageable by said contact arm, said contact arm engaging one or the other of said contacts by the selective unbalancing of said coils and positioned intermediate said contacts by the balancing of said coils, and said armature and said contact arm being disposed about the pivot point symmetrically to all lines through the pivot point so that gravity has no effect upon the operation of the relay regardless of the angular position thereof.

8. In a relay, a pair of coils having openings therein, mounting means for said coils, an armature formed of a single piece of elongated sheet metal, said armature having a projecting portion at an intermediate point thereof and at each end, all of said projecting portions being bent perpendicularly to said base, the intermediate portion being pivotally connected to said mounting means to pivotally support said arma ture and each of the end portions being disposed so as to extend into the opening of one of said coils to form a core member for said coil.

9. In a relay, a pair of coils having openings therein, mounting means for said coils, an armature formed of a single piece of elongated sheet metal, said armature having a pair of projecting portions on opposite sides of said armature at an intermediate point thereof and at each end, all of said pairs of projecting portions being bent perpendicularly to said base, the intermediate pair being pivotally connected to said mounting means to pivotally support said armature and each of the end pairs being disposed so as to extend into the opening of one of said coils to form a core member for said coil.

' 10. In a relay, a pair of relay coils, each having a passage therethrough, a sheet metal casing having two component parts partially enclosing said coils, each of said parts having a pair of lugs at each end thereof, which lugs are bent over to engage opposite ends of said coils and retain the coils in assembled relationship, a. pivot pin extending between said parts intermediate said coils, and an armature Apivotally secured at its midpoint to said pivot pin, said armature having two core members each of which extends into the passage of one of said coils.

1l. In a relay, a pair of relay coils, each having a passage therethrough, a sheet metal casing having two component parts partially enclosing said coils, each of said parts having a pair of lugs at each end thereof, which lugs are bent over to engage opposite ends of said coils and retain the coils in assembled relationship, a pivot pin extending between said parts intermediate said coils, and an armature pivotally secured at its midpoint to said pivot pin, said armature having two core members each of which extends into the passage of one of said coils, said armature, including said core members, being formed of a unitary piece of sheet metal.

WILLIS H. GIILE. 

